Taxed Foreign Policy of Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia's bid to pursue an ‘independent’ foreign policy that serves its national interest has faced contemporary challenges enmeshed in the regional geopolitical milieu and the  hanging global order. Alongside the actual challenges related to domestic politico-economic arrangements, the external conundrums continue to strain the state’s capability. This study, therefore, attempts to analyze the external context hindering the state from realizing the lofty ideals the state seeks to preserve and the benefit generated from its interaction with the outside world. To this end, the study establishes facts, analyzes them and seeks to anticipate the possible outcomes if the possible conundrums continue to inflict damage on the modus operandi of the foreign policy of the Ethiopian state. Accordingly, the paper argues that the interplay of domestic, regional and global dynamics continue to tax Ethiopia’s foreign policy and hindering it from accruing economic and security benefits from making interactions with the outside world over the past couple of years.